Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1887-04-09
The Kirvln independents Savage
Attack.
Two weeks ago the HERALD in a
aomea.LaL I.naLEE arLic.e Id.

I
10 tie respective townsnips certificates Of stock in
l equal amOuuL 10 tAe bonds voted While it may
cent? on The dollar, iii the road f. fully finished,
st IL is vaiuable, and viii from year 20 year grow
I mors valuable as the road itself appreciates in
value
4 The Independent copies these words
and proceeds TO savagely assail Us. He
calls US either a ..knaye or q fool, a fit
subject for the penitentiary, that we
are one Of gang Of cOnspirators en-
deavOring to subVert the constitution Of
Kansas, - that we are an anarchist and
are attempting to destroy law and order
/ by fraudulent representations and de-
hberate falsehoods," &c. &c.
The writer has but recently come to
Kansas; we have never had the pleasure
of meeting Editor Lamb personally,
and we confess we are ''taken back"
little at this volley of billiugsgate,
epithets and yituperation fred at Us.
But we have been informed that such IS
his usual style Of writing and that he al
ways argues a question in that way, and
that there is no danger Of his doing Us
bodily injury. With these assurances
we will venture 10 continue to express
our views on this matter Of voting bonds
to aid the Rock-Island Railroad.
In the language above quoted, we
stated that the law requires the Com
Pany to issue to the respective town
ships certificates Of stock to the amount
/ of bonds voted. Is that not fact, Mr..
Independent? You know it is. We
further stated that the stock would not
be very valuable till the road was fully
Finished but that as time went on II
would grow in value as the road itself
became more valuable. That was the
case with the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy road, the b. & NJ. and other
roads. When the G. B. & Q was Ton
structed through southern Iowa its
stock was worth but 10 cents on the dol
lar. IL gradually went up to 100 cents;
that was also the history of the b. & N,
and the Rock Island through Illinois
and Iowa. We have all along said that
the stock 10 be issued by our proposed
road, would be worth but little for sew
eral years, and till the road was ully
finished, but that it would from the
start, be worth something, and would
in the future grow more valuable.
Hence we said, and now say, that the
bonds voted TO the road are not ''fIe
gift" to the Company, as they are com
PEELED by law 10 issue to the township
voting the aid, certificates OF stock equal
to the amount OF bonds voted.
But the Independent editor says the
road will be morLgaged that the hon
est farmers will be 'left TO hold the
sack, that it is the .'old snipe game, -
that the whole business is d 'sulde and
q swindle -
How does he know that The officers
of the proposed road are scoundrels?
How does ne know that this is a bogus
railroad Company? How does he know
that tins is not a branch of The great
Rock Island? Those are serious charges
ne makes that these men are "conh-
dence men, liars, robbers, swindlers
and thieves" He furnishes no proof 10
support what he says, 1t is very easy
tOr an editor to print an article making
unsupported charges; it is quite another
matter TO prove them. Because there
have been some bad railroad men and
some "snide railroads." it does not
follow that all railroad men are bad and
ali railroads snides-
If the independent editors position is
correct that bonds voted TO railroads in
Kansas are unlawful and thel efore void,
the people are safe for they viii not
have to pay them; if he ls- correct in
what he says that the proposed road
will never be built and is a fraud, then
it costs the people nothing If it is true,
as he asserts, that the stock will be
worthless even if the road is construc-
ted, even then the people will get
road and they will get in taxes from
! such road a sum in excess of the amount
of bonds voted. View it from what
ever standpoint you may, and admit
/ everything claimed by Mr.. Lamb, if the
road is built the people can lose nothing
but are largely benefited. The evils OF
which he complains, such as watered
stock, exhorbitant charges. diserimina-
tions, poOliags, &c, are wrong, and we
eonoemn them. They can and should
be prohibited by law and are prohibited
by the law of Congress which went into
effect April Ist.